Movies like Absence (2021)
The best movies like Absence (2021) are The Swallows of Kabul (2019), The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (2022) and Memorable (2019). If Absence hooked you with its drama and animation, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Swallows of Kabul (2019)7.7/10 from 233 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Swallows of Kabul (2019)Also in French
The Swallows of Kabul (2019)
Summer 1998—Kabul under Taliban rule. Zunaira and Mohsen are young and in love. Despite the daily violence and misery, they hope for a better future. One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (2022)
Three tales, three ages, three worlds. At the time of Ancient Egypt, a young king becomes the first black pharaoh to deserve the hand of his loved one. During the French Middle Ages, a mysterious wild boy steals from the rich to give to the poor. In 18th-century Turkey, a prince of pastries and a princess of roses escape the palace to live their love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemorable (2019)
Aging painter Louis and his wife Michelle struggle to cope with Louis' advancing dementia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStrings (2004)
The story of Prince Hal who sets out to avenge his dead father against the city's rivals, the Zeriths, little knowing it was his wicked uncle Nezo who is the real killer, with his own designs on the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMatriculated (2003)
The human resistance works to convert a sentinel to their side. Part of the Animatrix collection of animated shorts set in the Matrix universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarona's Fantastic Tale (2020)
Marona, an innocent and empathetic little female dog, remembers the life she has shared with different masters, whom she has loved unconditionally.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJosep (2020)
February 1939. Overwhelmed by the flood of Republicans fleeing Franco's dictatorship, the French government's solution consists in confining the Spanish refugees in concentration camps where they have no other choice than to build their own shelters, feed off the horses which have carried them out of their country, and die by the hundred for lack of hygiene and water... In one of these camps, two men, separated by barbwire, will become friends. One is a guard the other is Josep Bartoli (Barcelona 1910 - New York 1995), a cartoonist who fights against the Franco regime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCardboard Boxer (2016)
Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrother (2019)
Because he wanted to protect his little brother, Teddy, a young man without a history, is accused of the murder of his father and sent to a closed educational center, waiting for his trial for parricide. He then plunges into a brutal universe of which he does not know the rules.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWalkaway Joe (2020)
A young boy named Dallas goes on a search for his pool-hustling father after he abandons their family. Dallas is determined to bring his father home when he meets Joe Haley, a drifter wrestling with a past he'd rather forget, who feels responsible for Dallas' safety and reluctantly takes him in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn His Shadow (2023)
After the death of their father, two half-brothers find themselves on opposite sides of an escalating conflict with tragic consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOn the Edge (2022)
One night, Leo, a Spaniard working in Brussels as a subway driver, sees a young man on the edge of the platform, just before he falls onto the tracks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Insult (2017)
After an emotional exchange between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee escalates, the men end up in a court case that gets national attention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Woman (1976)
Psychological drama of the compelling relationship between a young French engineer and the girl he takes into his home after his wife has left him with their baby son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Absence?
The closest matches to Absence are The Swallows of Kabul (2019), The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (2022) and Memorable (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Absence?
Start with The Swallows of Kabul (2019), the closest match to Absence.
What is the highest-rated movie like Absence?
The Swallows of Kabul (2019), rated 7.7/10 by 233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Absence?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Absence?
Yes: The Swallows of Kabul (2019), The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (2022) and Memorable (2019).
How are movies similar to Absence chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Absence, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.